Monthly Archives: January 2020

We have been told that we need to go out into the world and pull ourselves up by the bootstraps (whatever that means). We have been told that people who are struggling and who can’t feed their own children just need to work harder. We’re told that there are two things in life that we should never talk about: religion and politics. And, as we’ve heard those confusing messages, our faith and our thoughts about God have been changing.

Many people believe that religion is something deeply personal.

Maybe we believe that because we think that faith is only about “Jesus and me,” and that our spiritual journey is only about finding our way into a paradise that we call Heaven. Maybe we say that our faith is a personal thing because we never learned how to talk about God with other people and don’t feel comfortable praying in front of others. Many of us say that a person’s religion is something deeply personal; and yet, for some reason, we keep talking about the fact that we need to get prayer back into public schools. Maybe we don’t think we should talk about our faith because we know that we live in a diverse country where people believe many different things about God and we don’t want to get into debates (even fights) with other people.

In my Christian faith tradition, God clearly speaks against rugged individualism. In fact, when God was creating the heavens and the earth, the first thing that God saw that was NOT good is pointed-out in Genesis 2:18. God clearly says, “It is NOT good for the person that I have created to be alone.” Wow!

In my last few posts, I’ve been reminding you that you are dearly loved by God and that God has placed you on the earth to do a very special thing. I’ve also lifted up the fact that, as people of faith, it’s important for us to remind each other that the things we’re doing with our lives are important. God created us to encourage each other and to build each other up. God created us pray for each other and to spur each other on. But, we can’t do that as individuals who are not connected to each other in some way. And that’s why, as people who are dearly loved by God, Christ brings us together in the Church.

A lot of people don’t want to have anything to do with the Church these days; and, quite frankly, I can sometimes understand why they remain distant. People are sometimes like porcupines on a cold winter night. We need each other to stay warm. We, perhaps, even need each other to survive in a world where God says that it’s not good for us to be all alone. But, sometimes, when we get close to each other, we prick each other with our quills, don’t we? Sometimes WE prick other people with OUR quills. Sometimes we get pricked by the quills that other people have. And it can hurt. It can make us want to run away. Some of you may have decided that you don’t want to have anything to do with the Church because you are sick and tired of being hurt by people that you think should be nicer, or more friendly, or less belligerent, or even more forgiving. One of the things that I’ve learned about the Church is that the Church is filled with people. And, if I require the people in the Church to be more perfect than I am, I’m bound to be disappointed.

Saint Paul talks about the Church in 1 Corinthians 1:10-18. He clearly reminds us that the Church consists of many different gatherings in many different places. Saint Paul even acknowledges that people in one community of faith can feel separated from folks in other communities of faith. Have you ever been afraid to work with another group of Christians in a different faith community to meet the needs of young people because you think that “other” congregations want to “steal” the young people in your congregation? Have you ever secretly gloated when you heard that another faith community was going through a time of struggle? Have you ever been afraid that the newly-installed and very charismatic preacher down the street is going to draw “your” people away? We’re very good at talking about the fact that we are all Christians together and that we shouldn’t feel that we’re in competition with each other, but….

What would the ministry of the Church look like if we all reached out to each other and tried to form partnerships? Maybe we could do things together that we’re having trouble doing all by ourselves? Maybe, if we set aside some of our feelings of competition, we could re-discover the fact that the Church is one Body – not just a bunch of individually working body parts? Maybe we could all thrive and become more healthy together by remaining connected to each other in times when the Church is going through a lot of scary changes? Maybe we could even begin to see Christ do some incredibly new things with all of us if we could just begin to see ourselves as more than individuals – or as individual communities of faith – and started working together and acting like the one Body that we are?

Do you have somebody in your life who encourages you and who cheers you on?

In my last post, we learned a little bit about the baptism of Jesus. We remembered the day when Jesus was baptized, when the Holy Spirit touched Him and when God called Jesus “beloved.” We reflected upon our own baptisms remembering the fact that God has touched us in the very same way. We are loved. We are precious. God has created US and has sent US into the world to make it a better place.

And now, as we read John 1:29-42, we find another interesting story.

We read that Jesus was walking along a road one day and that John the Baptizer shouted, “Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” and, after that, John talked about what happened on the day of Jesus’ baptism. And then, John does the same thing again! It’s almost as if John the Baptizer is trying to tell people that Jesus is doing something important. John is announcing to the entire world that Jesus has been filled with the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus has been sent into the world with a special mission and purpose to fulfill.

Now let’s stop right there and think about what’s happening….

I suspect that Jesus didn’t really need John’s affirmations as He moved forward in life and ministry, but I don’t really know that. But I do know that, as WE travel through life, we all need people who thank us, who encourage us and who remind us that we’re doing God’s work. We are doing something important that’s changing lives….

You might be serving in a position of leadership at a church, or you might be helping to pack boxes at a food pantry. You might be a teacher. You might be an engineer. You may be a stay-at-home mother or father. Or, you may be one of those people who is always at work behind the curtain, so that things run smoothly in front of the curtain. You may be a parent, or a grandparent or another type of caregiver who is helping a young person to grow toward adulthood or an older person who’s slowly approaching death. You may be a musician. You may be an administrator. You may be…. You get the point.

God is at work in your life, but what God calls us to do can sometimes be both exhausting and discouraging. We’re all human, right…? We may even have times in our lives when we experience something called “compassion fatigue” that can deeply affect how we feel, and how we think about life and about what we’re doing. And that’s why we need people who thank us and encourage us and build us up as we continue to do what we’re doing.

We all like to be thanked when we’ve done something, don’t we? We all have times in our lives when we need to be reminded that we’re doing something important. We all have times in life and ministry when we need to be reminded that what we’re doing is God’s work with our very own hands.

And so, here’s what I’d like you to carry with you this week….

Listen to me…. Thank you! I know that life can be challenging, but I want you to know that, even if nobody else is saying it, you’re doing something important. God wants you to know that you’re loved and that you’re precious. And God also wants you to know that, when you do what you believe you’re being called to do by God, you are doing something that’s changing lives and helping our world to be a much better place for us all. Thank you!

And now watch this…. Other people are experiencing exactly what you experience. They’re fighting on the front line beside you. They’re trying their best to live and to do what they believe God wants them to be doing in a crazy world. And, sometimes, they also need to hear the very same words that I just addressed to you…

Be like John the Baptizer in the coming days. Look for the face of Jesus in the people who are around you and examine the many ways that people are doing what they think God wants them to do. Thank them. Encourage them. Build them up, and help them see that they’re doing something important as they invest their time and lives in other people.

I still enjoy looking through photo albums – even in a world where most of us store our pictures in our cellphones or somewhere in the Cloud.

Several months ago, I found my Baby Book. It’s a book filled with pictures of me right after I was born, that carefully preserves pictures of me sitting on the laps of people who have been gone for decades and that even contains the bracelet that was placed on my wrist on the day when I was born. People often took pictures only at significant moments not all that long ago; in fact, many people were only photographed once or maybe twice in their entire lifetime (perhaps on the day of their wedding) about 150 years ago.

John’s Gospel tells us the story of a “snapshot” moment in the life of Jesus that would have most certainly been captured in a photograph if cameras had been invented.

Picture Jesus standing waist deep in water and being baptized by John the Baptizer in the Jordan River. And now, get your camera ready…. All of a sudden, the Heavens open and the Spirit of God descends upon Jesus like a dove. There’s a great big booming voice from Heaven that says, “Jesus is my beloved Son and I’m pleased to call Him my beloved Son.” And, right after that, Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit into the Wilderness to be tempted by the devil and to begin his earthly ministry.

Now, let’s talk about you….

Some time ago, you may have come (or even been carried) to a very special place to be baptized. It really doesn’t matter if you were baptized in the place where you worship now, in a lake, in a river, or even in a church building that’s been closed for many years. And, while you were being washed in the waters of Baptism, the Heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon YOU, and God said, “YOU are my Beloved and I am going to work in YOUR life to do incredible things.” Snap! Did you capture the picture…?

You are God’s Beloved!

And, just like God moved and worked in the life of Jesus, God is working in your life, too! God has a plan for your life that is bigger than anything you can possibly imagine. God has embraced you and has made you an important part of what God’s doing in the world today. God wants you to remember “who you are” every time you remember the day when you were washed in the waters of Baptism. That precious “snapshot moment” in life can help you to remember that you’re precious and God’s Beloved in a world that often makes you feel somehow less than what God created you to be. It can remind you that God is alive and working in your life even in a world that often tells you that you’re just not “big enough” or “powerful enough” or “good enough” or “important enough” to be a part of what God’s doing.

Remember that you have been washed in the waters of Baptism. You have been touched and filled by the Holy Spirit. And you are chosen and precious. In fact, every time you look in the mirror, you can say to yourself, “I am God’s Beloved.”

And with that vitally important truth planted in your mind, go out into the world in the coming days with confidence and courage. And let YOUR light shine before others and help them to see what God’s doing in YOUR life.

Are looking for a new and exciting way to build connections between your faith and daily living as we enter this new year?

Today, I added a new menu option to my blog called FaithBuilders.

FaithBuilders is an exciting way for people and for families to connect with each other at the end of each day to share what is happening in their lives with each other, and to build bridges between their faith and what’s happening in their lives. FaithBuilders is a way for people of all ages to move through the Bible and to think about stories from the Bible that have been a part of the Christian faith for thousands of years. FaithBuilders is something that we can easily incorporate into our daily routines, and it is a daily faith practice that encourages us to talk with each other, to pray with each other about what’s happening in our lives, and to bless each other.

We are going spend some time in 2020 learning about the life of Jesus Christ. This is a great way to learn more about Jesus if you don’t know much about Him right now, and it’s also a great way for parents to introduce stories about Jesus to their children and teenagers. We’re going to be focusing upon only one story from the Bible each week. And throughout the week, I’m going to ask you to ponder several questions that can help you to think more about what you believe and to apply what you believe to your daily life. You can find several suggested questions to ponder under each reading from the Bible. If you get off-track for some reason, don’t worry! Just pick up with the next story when you get started again. This is about learning and growing as an individual and with people who are an important part of your life. This is NOT about being “bound” by yet another commitment or New Year’s resolution!

I’m hoping that God will richly bless you as you make FaithBuilders a part of your daily routine, and as you continue your journey of faith toward wherever God is leading you.

To get started, all that you need to do is look at my blog’s main menu (above), and either click or tap the FaithBuilders option.